Lundqvist says sore shoulder 'under control' for Game 3

Tuesday

May 21, 2013 at 2:00 AM

GREENBURGH — With the Rangers facing a 2-0 series deficit for the second playoff round in a row, this is no time for goalie Henrik Lundqvist to take a break — even if his left shoulder is hurting a little.

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GREENBURGH — With the Rangers facing a 2-0 series deficit for the second playoff round in a row, this is no time for goalie Henrik Lundqvist to take a break — even if his left shoulder is hurting a little.

Lundqvist practiced Monday and will be in net again for Tuesday night's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist had to get his left shoulder looked at after he hurt it jumping on the rebound of a Daniel Paille deflection with 4:52 left in the third period of the Rangers' 5-2 loss in Game 2 on Sunday afternoon in Boston.

"Yeah, it's under control," Lundqvist said Monday. "I landed on the ice awkwardly and hurt it a little bit. It's under control."

Lundqvist's shoulder did not appear to bother him during Monday's practice. At one point, he stretched out and fully extended his left arm along the ice to make a save on Rick Nash. He said skipping practice Monday was not an option he considered.

"Everybody's sore," Lundqvist said. "It's the playoffs. You can't just sit out (because) it's hurting a little bit. It happens and you just have to make sure you do the right things to keep it good."

After posting shutouts in the final two games of the conference quarterfinals against Washington to help the Rangers complete a comeback from a 2-0 deficit in that series, Lundqvist has given up eight goals in the first two games against the Bruins. He allowed five goals Sunday for the first time since March 9, 2011, at Anaheim — a streak of 152 games, including the playoffs.

The Bruins have done a good job of getting to the front of the net to screen Lundqvist and get deflections and rebounds.

"It's disappointing to give up five goals, but also positioning-wise and reading plays for the most part was good," Lundqvist said. "It's just they made some good plays, too. There were some unlucky bounces and screens. I could probably find excuses for the goals, but that's not going to help my game. I just have to try to do better and work even harder to see pucks."

According to coach John Tortorella, the Rangers played much better in the Game 2 blowout than in their overtime defeat in the series opener.

"The first game, the score doesn't indicate the game," Tortorella said Monday. "We probably should've lost by more. After watching the tape, which always helps me the next day one way or another, there were a lot of good things."

History is hardly on the Rangers' side. The Rangers are 2-19 in series they trailed 2-0, and no NHL team has won consecutive series after losing the first two games.

"You don't want to be down 2-0," Tortorella said. "We know what hole we're in, but by no means is this a really bad thing. We need to win a game and try to get momentum on our side."